Europe Coronavirus Updates: Spain overtakes Italy in confirmed cases, daily deaths down for 2nd day

Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-05 03:42:15|Editor: huaxia

Medical staff and ambulances arrive at the Orly Airport in Paris, France, April 3, 2020, from where the coronavirus patients will be transferred by military helicopters to southern France to receive treatment.(Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua)

-- COVID-19 cases in Spain total 124,736, now more than in Italy;

-- COVID-19 claims over 15,000 lives in Italy, ICUs see first drop of patients;

-- Infections top 20,000 in Switzerland, 10,000 in Portugal;

-- France reports 7,560 COVID-19 deaths, 6,838 in intensive care;

-- UK confirms 41,903 COVID-19 cases with five-year-old among youngest victims.

BRUSSELS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

The road in front of the Supreme Court is seen empty in Rome, Italy, April 3, 2020.(Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

ROME -- The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 15,000 lives in locked-down Italy, as the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries has risen to 124,632, according to the fresh data released by the country's Civil Protection Department on Saturday.

Speaking during a televised press conference, Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli confirmed that there were 2,886 new active coronavirus infections compared to Friday, bringing the nationwide total to 88,274 cases.

Of those infected, 29,010 are hospitalized, including 3,994 in intensive care, and the rest are quarantined at home, Borrelli said.

"Today for the first time we have a very significant element to report, which is that the number of patients in intensive care has decreased by 74 individuals," Borrelli said.

A Chinese national flag flies at half-mast to mourn for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and compatriots who died of the disease at the Chinese Embassy to Spain in Madrid, Spain, April 4, 2020. (Chinese Embassy to Spain/Handout via Xinhua)

MADRID -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed on Saturday that he would ask for the State of Alarm to be extended till "24 hours on April 25" to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Sanchez explained the "hard" decision in a televised press conference after meeting with the government's Technical Committee for the coronavirus and after the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare confirmed the number of cases of the coronavirus had reached 124,736 while the death toll climbed to 11,744.

The Health Ministry figures also show that the number of new cases is falling on a daily basis, while the number of deaths in a 24-hour period has also dropped for the past two days.

An ambulance and tents provided by the Portuguese Red Cross to quarantine suspected COVID-19 cases are seen next to Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 10, 2020.(Photo by Pedro Fiuza/Xinhua)

LISBON -- The total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Portugal passed the 10,000 mark on Saturday, reaching 10,524, according to the Portuguese health authorities.

Portugal reported 638 new cases of infection and 20 deaths associated with the COVID-19 on Saturday. Now death toll stands at 266, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) said in its daily bulletin.

Among the fatalities, 254 aged above 60.

Few passengers are seen at a railway station in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 31, 2020.(Xinhua/Nie Xiaoyang)

GENEVA -- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Switzerland surged to 20,278 as of Saturday morning, an increase of 975 infections compared to the previous day, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported on its website.

The Alpine country has seen a total of 540 deaths.

Noting constantly growth of confirmed cases by roughly 1,000 per day, Daniel Koch, a top official from FOPH, said Switzerland has definitely not yet reached a peak where easing lockdown measures could be taken into account.

An Air Force helicopter takes off from the Orly Airport in Paris, France on April 3, 2020, to transfer COVID-19 patients to southern France to receive treatment.(Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua)

PARIS -- In France, 7,560 people had died of COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes since the beginning of the epidemic and 6,838 patients are currently in intensive care, Director General of Health Jerome Salomon announced on Saturday.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in hospital jumped to 5,532, up by 441 in one day, while at least 2,020 in nursing homes had died of the virus since the beginning of the epidemic, said Salomon at the daily briefing.

Photo taken on April 3, 2020 shows messages urging people to stay at home to help the National Health Service (NHS) save lives in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON -- The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Britain reached 41,903 as of Saturday morning, an increase of 3,735 in the past 24 hours, according to the lastest figure from the Department of Health and Social Care.

As of Friday afternoon, of those hospitalized in Britain who tested positive for coronavirus, 4,313 have died, marking a record daily rise of 708, the figure from the department showed.

The department also confirmed that a five-year-old child, who had an underlying health condition, is the youngest in Britain to die from COVID-19.

Buses are seen to transport passengers, who tested negative for COVID-19, of the Greek ferry "Eleftherios Venizelos," in Piraeus, Greece, on April 3, 2020.(Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

ATHENS -- Greek government announced on Saturday that it is extending the nationwide lockdown till 6:00 a.m. local time on April 27 to further the efforts in containing the spread of novel coronavirus in the country.

The announcement was made by Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection and Crises Management at the Ministry of Citizen Protection during a daily press briefing broadcast live on national broadcaster ERT.

Greece has registered 1,673 confirmed cases and 68 deaths since the first infection was diagnosed on Feb. 26 in the country. In the last 24 hours, there were 60 new cases and 9 new fatalities. A total of 98 people in critical condition were now hospitalized in intensive care units, according to latest data from the briefing.

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